The housing access crisis, which has dominated political debate in the last week, will again be at the center of the plenary session of the Parlament this Tuesday, where, among other issues, a bill from the PSIB proposing to limit rental prices will be addressed.
The plenary session will start at 09:00 hours with the usual control session of the Govern. In this block, the Minister of Housing, Territory, and Mobility, José Luis Mateo, will be questioned four times by the opposition regarding housing policies.
The left-wing groups will focus on the rising cost of rentals, evictions, and the rise of seasonal rentals, just a few days after PP, Vox, and Junts rejected the housing royal decrees in Congress.
This will also be the first face-to-face meeting between the Govern and the opposition after the announcement of early general elections for November 29, a move that both PP and Vox have welcomed with satisfaction.
In this regard, the 'popular' spokesperson in the Parlament, Sebastià Sagreras, expressed this Monday his confidence that the leader of the 'populars', Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will obtain a sufficient majority to form a government and open "a good time for the Balearic Islands."
On the other hand, the Vox spokesperson, Manuela Cañadas, has urged the population to "avoid voting by mail" in order to prevent the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, from carrying out "any trick" in the elections.
The federation Ara Més, which groups the sovereignist formations of the Balearic Islands, MÉS per Mallorca, Més per Menorca, and Ara Eivissa, has also spoken out about the call and has ruled out running in the general elections under a "monstrosity at the state level."
Finally, the deputy secretary general of the PSIB, Rosario Sánchez, has defended that her general secretary, Francina Armengol, would be a "fantastic head of the list" for the elections on November 29.
The PSIB intensifies pressure on rental regulation
In the plenary session this Tuesday, the deputies will again discuss the declaration of stressed areas through a bill from the PSIB to set limits on rental prices. The socialists have been demanding this tool for some time, which PP and Vox have repeatedly rejected, considering that setting price caps is not effective.
The socialist spokesperson in the Parliament, Iago Negueruela, demanded in the press conference after the Board of Spokespersons that the Govern allow municipalities to adhere to this regulation, given that "many of the evictions are due to increases in rent."
Among the councils that have unsuccessfully requested to be declared a tense area are, for example, Inca and Manacor. According to Negueruela, the vote this Tuesday will show whether the groups in the Chamber are "with the workers" or "with the vulture funds."
In the same appearance, he emphasized that "Prohens will have to choose whether she is with the vulture funds or with the people on the street." After his intervention, he gave way to the candidate for the Govern, Rosario Sánchez, to develop her position.
"A turning point has occurred in the housing issue and because of Prohens, the PP, and Vox, the families of the Balearic Islands are worse off although they could have hope in being able to access housing in conditions of dignity," began the socialist, reproaching the regional president for her rejection of the two housing decrees that were overturned in Congress.
In Sánchez's opinion, Prohens "has preferred business, prioritizing the vulture funds and protecting the most radical market rather than standing by the people."
From the PP, their spokesperson stated last Wednesday that the housing problem "is not solved with one or two decrees" nor "reacting to a particular case" like that of Maricarmen.
On behalf of Vox, their parliamentary spokesperson rejected the "interventionism, legal insecurity, and attacks on private property" that, in her view, the measures of the central Executive imply.
In addition, the president of the Govern, Marga Prohens, will have to respond in the plenary about the housing crisis to questions raised by Més per Menorca and the PSIB. Vox will focus its questions on possible tax cuts and MÉS per Mallorca on initiatives to improve the living conditions of citizens.
The socialists will also question the regional Executive on climate policies, while Més per Menorca will defend a motion aimed at combating overcrowding.
Finally, the hemicycle will debate the consideration of the bill on the property regime of marriage, jointly promoted by all the groups in the Chamber, so it is expected to be approved.
The initiative includes a legal reform to allow inheritances during the lifetime of the legitimate among spouses, a possibility reserved until now only for transmissions between parents and children.